More than a dozen federal appellate judges are scheduled to hear arguments on whether Mississippi can continue to permanently strip voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies.

Nineteen federal appellate judges are scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on whether Mississippi can continue to permanently strip voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes for which they have served a complete sentence.

The outcome of the case will likely determine whether tens of thousands of people win back the right to vote. An immediate decision is not expected.

Criminal justice advocates won a major victory last August when a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ban violates the Constitution’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual” punishment. But the full 17-member circuit court vacated that ruling weeks later and scheduled Tuesday’s hearing.

Attorneys for the state argue that the voting ban is a “nonpunitive voting regulation” and that, even if it did constitute punishment, it isn’t cruel and unusual.

  • lolcatnip@reddthat.comEnglish
    4·
    10 months ago

    Prisoners, who are entirely at the mercy of the state, have more vested interest than anyone else in ensuring that their needs are heard.

    Voting for the government to dissolve will never be on the ballot, and even if it was, I’d argue that if a government is keeping enough prisoners that they could vote to dissolve it, that government is the most extreme police state in history and it definitely needs to be dissolved.